of the Minister that it may go well with you and yours for ever Is not this reasonable Oh take notice what Traitors there are in your bosomes that perswade you to the contrary begin to think with thy self of thy own folly say with thy self Lord What a beast am I Is not the truth that is revealed to me a plain truth is it not the truth of God Is it not for my good to yeeld unto it Doe not I see the heart of the Minister earnest to save me what doth he say but that which is profitable for my soul What is the reason that I stoop not to this so reasonable a thing why come not I under the power of this word and submit to the government thereof Oh my corruptions say it is unreasonable what doe they say wilt thou suffer thy sin which thou hast loved and dallyed withall so long thy sin that hath been of such ancient acquaintance with thee and yeelded thee so much pleasure and profit Wilt thou suffer the Word now to pluck it away from thee My brethren labour now to lay strong hands upon the Traitor and to grapple with that bosome-corruption and work thy soul to a contentednesse to part with it And to bring thy heart to this contentedness for all the quarrell is ended if this be done you must professedly come to this Point whether it be better to lose an eie or a tooth or a limb and go to heaven lame or blind or to retain these and go to hell and lose your soule for ever Bring I say thy soul to a secrious consideration of this truth either I must lose my sin or my soul there is no third thing to be done howsoever carnall reason may suggest other matters yet it must come all to this at last Therefore thinke of it seriously and tell your souls this in secret if sin be had condemnation must be entertained by me also chuse now which you would have Every man by nature hath this principle in him to desire to sleep in a whole skin and therefore we shall observe men in times of horrour of conscience the soule is content for its own safety to fling off all for a while Bring thy heart to it now and labour to keep it close to this point either to renounce Christ or sinne Look as it is with a man that hath a gangrean in his hand or leg or some other venemous disease when a man comes to him and he asketh his counsell and he tels him that the nature of the disease is such that the part must be cut off or else all will be infected this he likes not perhaps but yet this is not enough to work in him a resolution of being dismembred and therefore he sendeth for another and another But at last one commeth and telleth him plainly either you must lose your hand or your life oh then the heart is brought to this rather take my hand than my life So it is here bring thy heart to this therefore either leave all profanenesse leave all contemning of God and love of the world or leave salvation either your life or your lust must goe your sin or your eternall happinesse Work this upon your soules every time you come to hear the Word The second thing for a man to doe that he may come to give way to the Word of God and have a teachable soule is this Take heed of admitting any carnall reasonings against the truth revealed and the plain Word of God openly manifested to you no carnall shifts and evasions for the soul will be thereby cozened In Exod. 7. you shall see there Moses commeth to work upon the heart of Pharaoh and to perswade him to let Isruel goe and to work the more effectually upon him he doth some miracles when Pharaoh saw this he sent for the Magicians to doe the like and they did t is true Moses Rod eat up their Rods but in the mean time Pharaohs heart was hardened The thing is this my brethren what Moses said to Pharaoh the Lord saith to every soule let thy soule goe that it may serve me let thy heart yeeld obedience to me that thou mayest be blessed for ever there is no remedy this must be done thou must be humbled for thy sinne and forsake it or else destruction on followeth This is the charge which God sendeth by every faithfull Minister if now a man send for some carnall reason which is as the Magitians to Pharaoh and that suggests what needeth all this adoe what needeth all this nicenesse and precisenesse is not God mercifull and shall a man look to be saved for his works why did Christ die if salvation were not for sinners Oh my brethren this will undoe you these are the delusions of Satan and meer carnall imaginations and so the soule forsakes that repentance that God requireth and gainsayes that good Word which God hath revealed Your onely course now my brethren is to admit of no carnall reasonings when the Word of God is plainly and powerfully discovered when you see a miraculous hand of God in making known your hidden and secret sinnes and laying open your estates when God discovereth your sinnes in their own fearfull and ugly shape will you yeeld to fleshly imaginations to think alas every thing is not Gospel that the Minister speakes many wise men and great Schollars and Ministers too here are that say the quite contrary This is to hinder the power and efficacy of the Word of God Admit therefore of no carnall counsell send for no Magitians when the Lords command is evident and plain heare nothing against the Word of God but yeeld and captivate your minds to the truths revealed The third Argument that will bring the heart to stoop to the Word of God it is this to consider the excellency and soveraign superiority of the Commandment of God My brethren it is in vain to dally with the Word of God you must know it is his Word the Scepter of his Kingdome that Word by which you must be judged that Word which shall stand though heaven and earth change and come to nothing that which shall be made good upon all men either to their salvation or damnation Therefore be convinced of the majesty and authority of the Word of God Doe not think that all the businesse is when you come here onely to hear a man speak an houre and so have done No that which you hear is the Word of God and that Word that is now revealed it must rule you either here to bring your soules to a subjection thereunto or else to domineer over you then when you cannot gainsay it Many are the shiftings and turnings that are in the heart of wicked men to put off the force and vertue of the Word of God alas say they these words are but wind and they break no bones and so men scoffe at the threatnings of God Oh take heed of this and know and let
THE SAINTS DIGNITIE AND DUTIE TOGETHER WITH The Danger of IGNORANCE and HARDNESSE Delivered in Severall SERMONS By that Reverend Divine THOMAS HOOKER Late Preacher in New-England HEBR. 10.38 Now the just shall live by Faith but if any man draw back my soul shall have no pleasure in him LONDON Printed by G. D. for Francis Eglesfield and are to be sold at the Sign of the Marigold in Pauls Church-yard 1651. To the Reader Reader THou hast here set forth to thy view the last memoriall for ought I know in this kind of that Reverend Divine Mr. Thomas Hooker Rev. 14.13 who now rests from his labours being dead in the Lord. And though this present work be but small in quantitie yet it comprehends a great many divine Truths For thou shalt in this as in a glasse see thine owne condition be it what it will If thou be indeed a child of God thou shalt find him herein a Barnabas a son of Consolation to thee in discovering what thy Priviledges are and what thy practise is or should be But if thou be yet in thy unregenerate estate he will prove a Boanerges a son of Thunder in shewing the danger of Non-proficiencie under the means of grace and knowledge and in wilfull hardness against admonition and reproof These Sermons are upon severall Texts of Scripture which I suppose will prove the more delightfull for the variety which is pleasing to all And though there bee no great dependance of these Sermons each upon other yet the whole without forcing may be reduced to these three Heads Dignitie Dutie Danger In the three former Sermons is set forth the dignitie or priviledges of true beleevers The inestimable gift of the Lord Jesus Christ for the redemption of his people is sweetly and fully explained in the First Sermon In the Second is shewed that Christ hath not only given himself for believers but to them and that he is in them with the blessed Effects of his Inhabitation In the Third thou shalt find the happie condition of the people of God being now freed from the Law and under Grace the Priviledges whereof are inlarged in severall Branches The duties of the Saints that injoy these dignities and priviledges are set forth in the two next Sermons In the Fourth That they ought only to attend to the voice of Christ who is the wisedome of the Father and to be obedient to him In the Fifth is shewed what kind of obedience is required of them even the obedience of Faith which is set forth in the fruitfulness and activitie of it in their Imitation of Abraham the Father of the faithfull And then in the two last Sermons is laid down the danger of neglecting these Priviledges and Duties either by remissness and ignorance under the means of knowledge and grace which is the sum of the Sixth Sermon or else which is worse by hardning the heart against instruction and reproof which is the Subject of the last that those that will not sweetly be drawn by the cords of love shall bee violently surprized with the chains of wrath The Works of this worthy man already Extant have proved by Gods blessing profitable and comfortable to many and I make no question but there is a blessing reserved for this also Therefore as the Wiseman saith Eccles 11.6 In the morning sow thy seed and in the evening with-hold not thy hand for thou knowest not whether will prosper this or that or whether they shall be alike good In this confidence it is commended to thy Prayers and paines in perusing it and that it may prove a furtherance in thy progresse towards heaven is the desire of Thy Christian Friend T. S. THE GIFT OF GIFTS OR The END why CHRIST Gave Himself By that Reverend Divine THOMAS HOOKER Late Preacher in New England ROM 5.15 But not as the offence so also is the free gift for if through the offence of one many be dead much more the grace of God and the gift by grace which is by one man Jesus Christ hath abounded unto many LONDON Printed by G. D. for Francis Eglesfield and are to be sold at the Sign of the Marigold in Pauls Church-yard 1651. The Particular Titles and Texts of each SERMON SERM. I. The Gift of Gifts on Tit. 2.14 SERM. II. The Blessed Inhabitant on Rom. 8.10 SERM. III. Grace magnified on Rom. 6.14 SERM. IV. Wisdomes Attendants on Prov. 8.32 SERM. V. The Activitie of Faith on Rom. 4.12 SERM. VI. Culpable Ignorance on Isai 27.11 SERM. VII Wilfull Hardness on Prov. 29.1 The GIFT of GIFTS OR The End why Christ gave Himself SERMON I. TIT. 2.14 Who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquitie and purifie unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works THe Apostle in the beginning of this Chapter had given several exhortations to severall sorts of Persons To the Aged men vers 2. To the Aged women vers 3. To the younger women and younger men vers 5 6. And to Servants in vers 9 10. Having thus exhorted these severall sorts to severall duties he subjoyneth an Argument that might serve to perswade them all to the practise of the duties he had exhorted them unto and that is laid down from the beginning of the 11th verse to the end of the 14th Wherein he describeth the end of the Doctrine of the Gospel and of the grace of God revealed therein which is That it should bring men to deny ungodlinesse and worldly lusts and to live soberly and righteously in this present world Vers 12. Looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ Vers 13. To bring people to this temper and disposition is the end and scope of all the Gospel Now having spoken of Christ in the end of vers 13. Our Saviour Jesus Christ he cometh also to describe Christ in ver 14. by such things as may also serve as Arguments to perswade to the former duties exhorted to The Lord Christ is described in this 14th Verse by an Act of his Who gave himself for us and this same action of Christ it is illustrated First by the Object for whom it was done He gave himself for us Secondly By the end Why it was done That he might redeem us from all iniquitie and purifie to himselfe a peculiar people zealous of good works Thus you see the Coherence of these words and the Scope of them and also the Parts of the Text They are the Action of Christ described by the Object and End of it We will first speak of the Action and Object joyning of them both together Who gave himself for us Give me leave to spend a little time in the opening of the Words And first what is meant here by us Who they are that are the object of this action of Christ Who they are for whom Christ gave himselfe In a word the Persons for whom Christ gave himself they are beleevers In 1 Tim
carefull fear the Lord doth keep them that they shall never fall And another end is in regard of the wicked world the world lieth in wickedness and it is cursed and hated of God and intended to damnation and there are a generation in the Church which the Lord hateth and abhorreth and hath appointed to wrath and there are some that hate God and Religion and are glad of any occasion whereby they may reproach God and Religion and may harden their hearts from the power and practise of Religion Now in regard of these desperate wretches the Lord hath appointed it that in all ages some professors shall fall scandalously that they that have a minde to have their hearts hardned against God and Religion should have them hardned with a vengeance that even as a man that is running in a way and another having a minde to make him fall casteth some stone or block before him that may make him stumble and fall Even so when the Lord seeth men desperately cavilling against Religion studying how to harden their own hearts and the hearts of others the Lord will make his own children sometimes to fall though that it is not so common but ordinarily hypocrites to fall and lie in their way as stones that they may stumble and fall and perish for ever There is a woe to them that take scandals all profane ones that will stumble at Religion and reproach professors and profession because of scandalls there is a woe to them and what woe Even this that those scandalls are as so many stones tumbled in the way to make them break their necks in the pit of everlasting perdition And therefore thus you shall finde that usually where the ministry of the Gospell hath been any long time and people have not been wrought upon by the preaching of the Gospel are not brought to a powerfull profession of religion you shall usually finde it that the Lord doth suffer some professors or other in these places to fall scandalously Is it not so in many places in this City And therefore I beseech my brethren think of it as you are afraid to be hardened and to have a blacknesse upon you of Gods wrath take heed of making this use of the fals and scandals of any to harden your hearts against religion or to tip your tongues with reproaches against the Gospel and professors and so to grow to a hatred of the truth and power of godlinesse But the use you are to make of it is this Let him that standeth take heed least he fall Is one fallen take heed thou doest not fall also and to the end thou doest not fall have a care to trie and examine thy selfe Looke to thy selfe that thou have a sure standing Therefore I beseech you make use of this Looking-glasse take this text of Scripture and by it try your selves if you be right Christ is in you if Christ be in you there is a death or sinne and a life of righteousnesse Thus much for the first Use The second Use in a word and that is for Comfort and Terror Is it so that those that have Christ in them have a death of sinne and a life of righteousnesse then here is comfort to some of you and terror to others of you Comfort to all such of you as finde in your selves this death of sinne and this life of righteousnesse Doest thou find that there is this death of sinne in thee this life of righteousnesse in thee Oh then be comforted for thou hast Christ in thee and thou art certainly in Christ God is reconciled to thee thy person is justified thy sinnes are forgiven and thy soule must be everlastingly saved therefore be thou comforted It may be there is not so great a death of sinne in thee as there is in others but there is a death of sinne in thee It may be there is not so full a life of righteousnesse in thee as there is in others but there is a life of righteousnesse in thee If there be a death of sinne and a life of righteousnesse Christ is in thee though thou come short of that death and life that is in others I pray is not the soule of man as truly in an Infant in the wombe as in that childe that is borne and grown to some strength Is not the soule of man as truly in a weak and sickly man as in a strong and lusty man Is not the life and sap of a tree in a plant that is truly ingrafted though but newly and standeth in a manner loose and scarse buddeth or blossometh is it not as truly in that graft as in a graft that is grown strong and hath borne much fruit Even so is it in thee and therefore be comforted I desire to joy and glad your hearts that are in Christ and have Christ in you and I could not tell what better subject to pitch upon to bring you to comfort because I know this is the maine ground of all your discomfort a doubt whether Christ be in you or not therefore I thought it fit to shew you your faces in this Looking-glasse If then you finde in you a death of sinne and a life of righteousnesse know that Christ is in you When as the Scriptures and Ministers from the Scriptures doe open to you cleare signes and certaine evidences of the goodnesse and truth of your estates if you put away comfort then you put away comfort when God speakes to you you refuse to be comforted when the Lord will comfort you you give the lie to God and to his Word therefore take heed what you doe if by these signes or any such which are cleare and evident grounded upon the word of God you finde your estates to be good know then and assuredly beleeve them to be good It is true I confesse the heart of man is so deceitfull that a man cannot try his own heart and therefore the heart of man is so deceitfull that Ministers cannot try other mens hearts none but the Lord Jesus Christ is onely able to know the heart none but the King is able to discerne the man that had not on the wedding garment you may passe the judgement of all the Ministers and Servants of the King and be let in to the feast Yet notwithstanding though neither man himselfe nor Minister is able to try the heart yet this I confidently beleeve that a man himselfe and a Minister also may know and try the hearts of people if so be they deale faithfully and plainly with him Though no man can discover the secret windings of the heart yet the word of God doth this word of God doth not onely lay down infallible signes whereby people may know whether they are in the truth of grace but the word of God doth lay down signes whereby we may know whether we have those signes or no therefore if people will in the humility of their soules nakedly so farre as they know their own
further then God is pleased by a mightie hand to break open the heart of a man and to enlighten it whether he will or no as a man may say 2 Tim. 3 6 7. this is observed to be the main cause why men are ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth They are very good Churchmen as they say often in the Church alwaies hearing and yet notwithstanding remain as poor ignorant silly sots in the main things of life and salvation as if they had lived all their dayes in the West-Indies What is the reason and ground of this The Apostle complaineth there of a certain company of widdows that were ever learning certainly then you would thinke that they were good Schollars no that they were not What was the cause what alwaies learning up early and down late and yet never come to the knowledge of the truth What is the cause The Apostle telleth you in the sixt verse They are laden with sins and led about with divers lusts And vers 8. They are of corrupt mindes reprobate concerning the faith or as it is in the Margent of your Bibles of no judgement concerning the faith Mark like unto these carnall hearted widdows there is a sort of men in the Church of God that carry the cloak of profession upon them and will run to every Lecture and take hold of every occasion to hear a Sermon and yet alas know nothing but are as silly and ignorant in the main grounds of Religion as blind in the things of God as any in the world Will you know the reason why they thrive not Observe it They are laden with lusts and led about with divers pleasures their hearts cleave close to some corruption they harbour some bosome lust in their souls they have a form of godliness but they take not up the power of Religion because it would remove and dis-place those lusts that they love so well I beseech you observe that place Isa 6.9 10. When the Lord had a purpose to overthrow the people and to bring a desolation upon them for their obstinacie he biddeth the Prophet go and preach to them but to what purpose Not to doe them any good for he would not save them Well what course then must the Prophet take Goe saith God and tell this people Hear ye indeed but understand not and see yee indeed but perceive not Make the heart of this people fat and make their ears heavie and shut their eyes least they see with their eyes and hear with their cares and understand with their heart and convert and bee healed I beseech you observe this Text If they did see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand 〈…〉 God would heal them But God in his just judgement will not have them see nor hear nor understand that they might not convert and be healed and he will accomplish this work by the Ministerie of the Prophet and therefore he sendeth him to harden them by his preaching and how Make their hearts fat and then as it followeth their ears will be heavie and their eies will be shut Now observe what makes an heart fat First continuall glutting of ones self with diet with immoderate eating and drinking and then secondly continuall idenesse these two make men fat Just so it is with the soul of a sinner When as the heart of a man cleaveth to a corruption when as a mans affections are glued unto it so that he takes delight in it let it be what lust so ever it will be you shall ever finde him feeding upon it The proud man continually feeds himself upon his pride his minde is ever taken up with the thoughts of this or that fashion with this or that way of attiring and adorning himself The Adulterer is still feeding on the pleasures of his lust alwaies contemplating on those cursed delights The covetous man meet him where you will assoon as he is up in a morning presently he is talking of buying and selling of bargaining and match-making So the drunkard and the rest of sinners the meat is never out of their mouthes their hearts are continually set upon those sinfull corruptions to which they are addicted And withall mark as there must bee feeding so there must be resting for daily exercise and labour spendeth a man and therefore we know those that will feed any creature fat put it up So when a man is resolved to contiune in that course wherein he is is setled on his lees hath set up his staffe he will go no further but there he will stay such a mans heart is fat and what followeth his eyes will be blind Whatsoever shall come from the Minister to thwart that sinfull disposition of his to crosse that lust which lieth in his bosome any way to disease him or stir him off his dregs though it be never so clear and plain and delivered with never so much evidence and demonstration of the Spirit of God it self yet he cares not for it he is resolved to do what he pleaseth and to take his own course let them all say what they will Hence it cometh to passe that in these daies of light wherein the means of knowledge run through the greatest part of the land and abound as the rivers from the sea and yet men remain stark blind in the mysteries of salvation and altogether unreformed in their lives Doe but observe a little the temper of mens spirits and you shall finde it generally to be this Those truths out of the word of God which they conceive to crosse their quiet and disturbe their peace they will not indure Their heart is resolved to be at peace and at libertie come what come will and therefore whatsoever truth it be that causeth any disquietness or disturbance in them away with it Oh say they I will have none of that I have done with that point Surely it is no marvell that such men are not informed seeing they have shut their eies and will not see Oh say they I see no reason for this I understand not why I may not doc such and such a thing Yea you will not understand it you will not be informed because it will trouble and disquiet your hearts There is many a man my brethren who if he might have his libertie in sinfull courses allowed him and might injoy his credit and contentment and ease in the world together with the Gospel would take up many truths that are now despised by him but the main ground of his contempt lies here he must have his sin he will take his libertie he will enjoy himself what ever is said to the contrary And hence it is that God in his just judgement seeing that such men will not entertain the truth in the â—ove thereof that they might be saved they should be given up to strong delusions that they should beleeve a lie that they all might be damned who beleeved not the
person that swearer that covetous wretch is brought home by the Word and yet my soul is not inlightned to know God and to understand the things of his kingdome Now the Lord of heaven open your eyes and have mercy upon your poor soules and give you the knowledge of his truth that you may be saved FINIS VVILFUL HARDNESSE OR THE MEANS OF Grace Abused By that Reverend Divine THOMAS HOOKER Late Preacher in New England HEBR. 3.15 While it is said to day if yee will hear his voice harden not your hearts LONDON Printed by G. D. for Francis Eglesfield and are to be sold at the Sign of the Marigold in Pauls Church-yard 1651. Willful Hardness OR The Means of Grace Abused SERMON VII PROV 29.1 Hee that being often reproved hardneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed and that without remedie THis Book of the Proverbs by the consent of the judgement of all that have written upon it is like an inclosed peece of ground every particular sentence carrying with it as it were a full and compleat sense of it self each Verse being taken in as I may so say from all the bordering parts of this Scripture either going before or coming after it having neither coherence nor dependence upon any but carrying in it self a full and intire sence and therefore I shall spare the making of any kind of entrance by shewing any dependance of this Scripture which I have now read with that which goeth before it but saving that labour we will come presently and particularly to the words in hand In the Verse therefore there are two things offered to your consideration The First is the Sin that is here committed He that hardneth his neck being often reproved The Second is The judgement that is threatned to be executed upon him agreeable to the nature of the sin He shall be destroyed we shall have occasion to open the words anon He shall be shivered all to pieces God will overthrow him and all that appertaineth to him So I take the word is meant The Sin here is hardning of the neck and that is aggravated by the contrary means which God affordeth and the helps that God putteth into his hands for his good being often reproved or as the word carrieth it being a man of admonitions one that hath had admonition upon admonition The Judgement is set forth by severall circumstances discovering the qualitie of it First He shall be destroyed And then secondly The manner of it Suddenly God will not wait long or vouchsafe so much long suffering and patience towards him when once he cometh to that sin of hardning his neck under the Means of Grace And then lastly here is the irrecoverablenesse of him in this his condition He shall be destroyed without remedie there is no hope of redemption for him For the former before I come to the Point you must suffer me a little to make way for my self in the opening of two or three passages in the Text. Two things there are therefore that we will briefly discusse 1. What is meant here by hardning the neck 2. What it is to be a man of admonitions We will not be long in either onely as I said a little to make way for the evident discoverie of the point which we mean to treat of To harden the neck then it is a similitude taken from Oxen that are to draw in the yoke that when they are to come and bow their necks to the yoke they begin to grow stubborn and stiffe-necked and refuse to come under the yoke as the Master requireth and as he expects they should doe and as those that are taught will doe whole nature it is to take the yoke willingly and kindly To harden the neck therefore is to be stubborn and rebellious not to come under the Commandements of God which in the Scripture are compared to a yoke so Christ speaks Take my yoke upon you That is Submit your selves to the Laws of God to the Statutes and Commandements of God Now we are said to harden our necks when as the Heifer in his kind so our souls in their kinde withdraw our shoulders as it were from the commands of God that when the will of God is revealed we will not stoop we will not yeeld and submit to the truths of Christ but take up arms against him and become rebellious to the blessed word of God This is the stiffening of the neck In a word to be rebellious to resist to gainsay the truth of God the word of God and whatsoever is revealed to us and ought to be done by us The second Phrase is Being often reproved The word in the Originall implyeth as I said before a man of admonitions he that hath line upon line and precept upon precept admonitions upon admonitions and therefore our English rendreth it well A man often reproved that is one that hath not onely been once counselled and instructed and reproved but one upon whom the Minister is daily calling in the publike Ordinance one that is from Sabbath to Sabbath at least admonished and perswaded and intreated by the Minister of God that is continually again and again warned of the wrath to come If such a man as this gainsay all these and remain stubborn and rebellious after so many admonitions and reproofs then the judgement of God is ripe for him and he is ripe for it he shall be destroyed saith the Text the God of heaven will break him all in peeces as the Psalmist speaks and that suddenly without remedie So then the words being clear the Point is thus much viz. That Wicked men grow most rebellious under the best Means Mark this I beseech you It is not I but the Text that saith as much A man that is often reproved and hardneth his neck What is it to harden the neck I told you to grow stubborn and stout-hearted and to gainsay the truth of God to oppose it And what is it to be often admonished One Means is here specified but all are understood he that hath many means and that hath many helps and many incouragements that hath counsell and advice and reproof and perswasions and instructions If he harden his neck So then it is plain that he may harden his neck and he doth harden his neck and grow stubborn and rebellious notwihstanding all those means for that is presumed and necessarily implyed in the Text. The case then you see is clear That wicked men that shall be destroyed for whom God hath appointed sudden and heavie desolation and perdition they grow hard-hearted and rebellious under the best means The point is evident in the Text we will shew you what we have to doe namely to make good the thing in hand which we will establish by severall witnesses and discover the nature of it You shall observe this to be a usuall thing in the course of the Scripture 1 Pet. 3. 20. The Text saith there That the Lord went and preached to the
spirits now in prison What spirits were these which once were disobedient when once the long-suffering of God waited in the dayes of Noah Those spirits and damned souls those damned Ghosts now in hell the spirits of wicked men now in hell what were they they were those that were disobedient in the dayes of Noah Noah a preacher of righteousnesse whose life was a continuall preaching who daily called upon them and was earnest with them to repent and there was much long-suffering and patience afforded them God waited long for their amendment yet those souls were then rebellious under such great meanes and they are now cooped up in Hell A man would thinke it strange when he shall read the storie of Cain that he notwithstanding God himself came from heaven to teach him should yet remain obstinate and stout-hearted and yet you know the storie Gen. 4. you see it was so Cain began to be dismaid and his countenance fell because God regarded not his sacrifice Well God came from heaven and takes Cain to taske Cain what meaneth all this stir Why art thou wroth and why is thy countenance fallen If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted and if thou doest ill sin lieth at the door and unto thee shall be his desire and thou shalt rule over him A man I say would thinke that one should be instructed when God himself teacheth yet notwithstanding after all this Instruction of God himself whith in reason would be thought as effectuall as could be Cain forsakes God and flyeth off from the commandement of God stoopeth not nor yeeldeth obedience thereunto This is that which the Prophet I saiah hath Chap. 26. 10. Let favour be shewed to the wicked yet he will not learn righteousnesse in the land of uprightnesse will he deal unjustly and will not behold the majesty of the Lord. Though there be many helps afforded to him though he be planted in the Church of God where all things call and cry to him for amendment of life though the holinesse and mercy and goodnesse of God compasse him about though he have holy and religious neighbours about him though he have a good Minister in the Parish where he is yet he will not learn righteousnesse but will deal unjustly notwithstanding all the washing he will remain black still notwithstanding all the means that God vouchsafeth for his good yet he will be naught still One example you shall see of this in a passage of a Parable Mark 12. which makes good the Point in hand A certain man saith the Text planted a vineyard and set a hedge about it and digged a place for the wine fat and built a Tower here was much pains and a great deal of cost bestowed Well he let out this vineyard to husbandmen and went into a far countrey and at the season he sent to the husbandmen that he might receive of the fruit of the Vineyard Did he receive any fruit No they beat one and stoned another and killed another and all the messengers they sent away emptie At last he sent his son his welbeloved but they took him and killed him and cast him out of the Vineyard In a word The Vineyard is the Church of God and the Husbandmen were the Scribes and Pharisees they were those to whom God as it were had let out his Church He sendeth his messengers his servants the Prophets rising early and sending them his Apostles and Disciples to call for fruit for the fruits of holiness of faith and obedience but they abused his servants they made him no return of fruit but when he looked for grapes behold they brought forth wild grapes At last the Lord sent his Son the Lord Jesus Christ he came amongst them he that spake as never man did speak so that even all the world wondred at the gracious words which did proceed out of his mouth certainly saith God they will reverence my Son they will hear him they will be governed by his directions they will stoop at his command No they were then most outragious and malicious against him they all banded themselves together Come say they let us slay him they joyned heart and hand and all for his ruine I will not dwell longer upon the proof of it See it in nature The Physitian observeth it of the stomack that is naught that the best meat that a man giveth it the more cordials the better diet the worse are the humors that are bred by it Even so it is with a naughtie heart and it is an argument of a most wretched disposition when the best Physick the best Remedies the best diet as I may say that God can afford a man for his spirituall cure shall make the heart the worse And truly when the heart is naught it groweth stark naught under the best means No men are so bad as they that live where are the best helps for amendment The thing you see is evident in the proof of it we will a little further discover the nature of such men as live under the means and yet harden their necks and how that corruption that is in the heart doth discover it self most where the best means are And you shall see it made good in these two particulars That wicked men corrupt hearts are the worst under the best meanes though they have admonition after admonition though they are often reproved First of all The hearts of those men grow usually most rebellious against the Lord and against that truth that cometh with greatest power upon them either discoveriing sin to them or working effectually upon the soul and conscience The disposition of men usually that are naught is so that they manifest a marvailous fiercenesse of soul whereby they carry themselves violently against the blessed truth and Word of God and the more because it is the more powerfull we have a rule in reason that contraries when they meet the more violent one is the more the other will work against it as we may see it in fire and water So it is here the greater violence and Spirit and power the Word hath in any place the more violent the heart will shew it self in gainsaying the Ministry thereof The more home the Word cometh to the conscience and the more powerfully it is applied either in the convincing of sin or perswasion to holiness of life the greater risings and stirrings of heart there is against it You shall observe this in a passage of the story of the men of Sodom Gen. 19.9 When the cursed Sodomites came about the house and would have taken the Angels that came to Lot Lot he came out to them and spake very lovingly to them but because that which he said tended to crosse them in their wicked and unnaturall courses mark how they answered him Stand back say they This one fellow came in to sojourn and he will needs be a Judge now will we deal worse with thee than with them and they pressed sore